February 2010 Archives

Alarmed by soaring legal costs, the Metro board voted unanimously Thursday to spend up to $400,000 on an audit that would track the transportation agency's legal expenses and weed out "rogue litigators" who bill for work they never do.Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

The 11-0 vote supported a motion by MTA board member and Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who was particularly upset about the $30 million spent so far on a lawsuit filed in 1995 by the Sylmar-based Tutor-Saliba Corp. in connection with the Red Line subway that runs from Union Station to North Hollywood.

Ridley-Thomas said $10 million of the total may have been spent without approval of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board of directors.

Los Angeles City Council members voted today to put $12 million of their so-called discretionary funds into the emergency reserve, but it represents only a portion of the money that the mayor has asked them to turn over. Daily News.

The City Council's 15 members agreed to chip in $800,000 each.

Some will turn over AB 1290 funds, which represents a portion of the property taxes paid by residents in community redevelopment areas within their districts.

Moved by teary testimony from city workers fearing job losses, the City Council Wednesday asked staff to look into cutting the value of all city contracts by 10 percent and consider whether city workers could do some of that work. Daily News.

"It's time for us to lay off private contractors and keep our city workers," Councilwoman Janice Hahn said on another day of emotional testimony about the prospect of laying off 4,000 workers over the next 18 months.

The job cuts and other cost-saving measures are being proposed to shrink a budget gap that is anticipated to swell to $484 million by next year. Delays in dealing with the budget crisis cost the city's credit rating this week when a Wall Street rating agency downgraded Los Angeles, which will now have to pay more interest when it sells new bonds.

Disappointing many who had hoped Los Angeles public schools were on the brink of bold reform, school board members voted Tuesday to let the operation of most of the 36 schools up for grabs in a bid process remain in district hands.Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

"We missed an opportunity to make bold change today," said school board member Yolie Flores, who authored the district's School Choice plan. "Clearly, there is a line of board members that are still beholden to unions. I am beholden to children."

The School Choice plan, approved in August, allows teachers and administrators from within LAUSD as well as independent charter school operators and nonprofit groups to bid on new and underperforming district schools.

In a stinging blow that will cost the city millions of extra dollars down the road, a Wall Street rating agency Tuesday downgraded Los Angeles' credit rating, telling officials it had seen no real action to rein in spending. Daily News

Standard & Poor's Corp. notified city officials by telephone that it was lowering the city's general fund credit rating from AA to AA-, and reducing the rating on its Municipal Improvement Corporation from AA to A+.

"It will mean we will have to spend millions more (in interest payments) to get credit," City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana told the City Council.

The San Fernando Valley housing market continued to rebound in January, as prices and sales increased and foreclosures tapered off, a research center said Tuesday.Gregory J. Wilcox in the Daily News.

And two other reports showed a similar price trend taking shape in Los Angeles County and the rest of California.

According to the Valley Economic Research Center at Cal State Northridge, the median home price in January stood at $398,750, up 13 percent from a year earlier. In addition, Valley home sales increased in January from its year-ago level for the 17th consecutive month.

Some 15,000 households in the west and central San Fernando Valley will soon be participating in a year-long pilot program that will reward them for recycling, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced Tuesday. Tony Castro in the Daily News.

Villaraigosa said the program, in which no money from the city's general fund will be used, is part of the city's campaign "to reach our goal of zero waste."

"Los Angeles' ambitious environmental agenda is one of the reasons why we already recycle more than any other big city in America and why we will be the cleanest, greenest big city in America," the mayor said in a statement.

The plastic supergraphic ads cloaking a dozen buildings across Los Angeles could be torn down, and millions of dollars in ad profits forked over to the financially strapped city, if a lawsuit filed Monday prevails.Dana Bartholomew in the Daily News.

The City Attorney's Office filed a civil suit Monday against 27 companies and principals hoisting the humongous signs, banned by the city in August.

Among the dozen alleged violators were the Sherman Oaks Galleria, offices in North Hollywood by the 134 Freeway and a building by the 101 Freeway in the Cahuenga Pass.

More than two months after a flap erupted over Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas' plans to spend $700,000 on an office remodel, a firm has been hired to assess whether the project is justified. Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

"They are going to do an independent assessment of what needs to be done to address some of the safety issues and (Americans with Disabilities' Act) issues and other facts that will support his request to remodel his office," Chief Executive Officer Bill Fujioka said Tuesday.

Although Fujioka said he would get back to the Daily News to provide the name of the firm and how much the county plans to pay for the assessment, Fujioka did not call back.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa headed off to Washington, D.C., on Monday, for meetings today with federal officials on his plea to get an advance from the feds to help build his Subway to the Sea.
Villaraiogsa is asking that the federal government to approve his "30/10" funding request, to get $40 billion in the next 10 years while Los Angeles commitse its 30-years worth of money from Measure R to pay iot back.
In addiition to the subway project, Villaraigosa said 11 other transit projects throughout the region can be funded.

None of the 29 Los Angeles Unified charter schools examined in a study released Monday met state and federal standards aimed at making campuses accessible to disabled students, and some even lacked wheelchair-friendly bathrooms and walkways.
Connie Llanos in the Daily News.
The study by a federally appointed independent monitor also revealed that the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, which determines whether schools are compliant with these laws, is not making proper inspections.

An independent monitor was appointed in 2003 to oversee a federal consent decree imposed on the school district to improve special education services. An earlier report by the monitor also blasted LAUSD charter schools for enrolling fewer disabled students overall and fewer with severe disabilities than traditional schools.

he decision by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Monday to merge the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment into another city agency has raised concern over the future of the city's decade-old experiment with grass-roots democracy. Daily News.

To Villaraigosa and many city and neighborhood council leaders, the proposal - which will eliminate some two dozen positions and save an estimated $2 million - will help chip away the bureaucracy at City Hall.

Eyeing annual savings of up to a half-billion dollars, the Los Angeles City Council asked Monday for a report on a proposal to consolidate the city's myriad computer operations in one agency. Daily News.

Similar plans have been proposed over the years, but council members are now feeling pressure to follow through because of the city's dire financial outlook.

Under the plan, most of the separate computer operations of the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles Fire Department would be transferred to the city's Information Technology Agency over the next five years.

Councilwoman and candidate for Lieutenant Gov. Janice Hahn released a You Tube commercial hitting at San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom showing him admitting he knows little about the office or what it does.

Call it an energetic first step toward giving politics back to the people. Kevin Modesti in the Daily News.

More than 30,000 people applied by last Tuesday's deadline for the 14 seats on a citizen commission that will redo the state's allegedly gerrymandered district lines in time for the 2012 elections.

The commission is a key step toward making good on Proposition 11, the 2008 ballot measure that requires California to clean up the way legislative districts are mapped, a change supporters think will lead to less political partisanship.

At times, amid the throng of admirers hanging on to his every word inside the cavernous amphitheater, the silence was enough to hear a pin drop, as the Dalai Lama sat in yoga style on an stuffed chair and proclaimed:Tony Castro in the Daily News.

"The future of humanity ultimately depends on the public," he said in halting English.

Or when the Dalai Lama issued a beatitude that played on the Golden Rule:

"The destruction of your neighbor is the destruction of yourself. That is the new reality."

In the continuing effort to reduce city costs, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is expected to announce plans today to fold the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment into another city agency. Daily News.

A recommendation to the mayor on Sunday calls for placing the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, or DONE, within the Community Development Department and reducing its staff from 42 to about a dozen.

DONE has a total budget of $3.2 million.

Tipoffs: Pension costs the hidden issue in dealng with city budget.

A comic book seller opens a second shop. A stained-glass artist bags big commissions. A hair salon treats new locks. A pet boutique grooms more dogs.Dana Bartholomew in the Daily News.

And if that isn't enough during a strangely topsy-turvy economy, a French bistro stops customers on the sidewalk with a menu stuck to a giant pig.

A year ago, on a small stretch of Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, mom-and-pop stores struggled in the grip of the Great Recession. Today, as the economy begins to rebound, these owners say business is looking up.

As one veteran prosecutor puts it, the infighting, lawsuits and upheaval inside the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office has turned it into a veritable "snake's nest." Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

A series of legal battles between the prosecutors union and District Attorney Steve Cooley over allegations of anti-labor retaliation has provided a rare and sordid glimpse into the office charged with enforcing the law in the nation's most populous county.

"There is a lot of apparent acrimony between the administration and the union," said Tom Higgins, the head deputy district attorney who oversees criminal filings for most of Los Angeles and once ran against Cooley. "I think it's unfortunate we are fighting amongst ourselves."

Under pressure to act decisively, the Los Angeles City Council reversed itself on Thursday and ordered the elimination of 4,000 municipal jobs.Daily News.

The proposal, approved on a 9-3 vote, surprised and dismayed some union leaders because it moved beyond Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's call for 1,000 layoffs this year, and his warning that 2,000 additional jobs could be cut next year.

The council had previously resisted Villaraigosa's calls for immediate action. However, it faced new pressure Wednesday when a Wall Street rating firm lowered its view of the city's financial outlook.

Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortines recommended Thursday that the district keep control of a majority of schools that are part of a reform effort allowing outside groups to compete to run campuses.Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

Cortines' list of suggested operators for the 36 new and underperforming schools would allow outside groups to run 10 campuses. The rest would remain under LAUSD control.

His recommendations follow months of heated exchanges and accusations between the teachers, nonprofit groups and charters that bid to run schools under LAUSD's School Choice reform plan.

Los Angeles International Airport is one of America's least favorite big airports, according to a study of passenger satisfaction released today. Daily News.

To evaluate overall airport satisfaction, the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 North America Airport Satisfaction Study looked at six factors: airport accessibility; baggage claim; check-in/baggage check process; terminal facilities; security check; and food and retail services.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Thursday announced a $10 million program that will use federal stimulus money to help train 2,000 students for jobs in fields from health care to hospitality.Daily News.

"We are working together to create these jobs," Villaraigosa said. "The city, Los Angeles Unified and the Community College district (are working) to create the jobs in the new industries.

"For a long time, our job training was teaching people to fill out applications for jobs. Now, working with business, we are training people for the jobs that are out there."

A coalition of civic, business, labor and education leaders Wednesday signed an ambitious agreement to reform Los Angeles public schools, setting a goal of a 100 percent graduation rate.Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

Modeled after the Boston Compact signed nearly 30 years ago, the L.A. Compact counts 18 local groups, including the Chamber of Commerce, City Council and the County Federation of Labor, who will lobby together for funding and legislative changes on behalf of local schools.

Addressing some criticism the pact's goals were too lofty, such as aiming to have all graduates prepared to enter college, LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines stressed the compact needs to be more than "words on paper."

Los Angeles received more bad news on Wednesday when a top Wall Street rating agency moved one step closer to lowering the city's credit rating, saying city officials were taking too long to balance the budget.Daily News.

Moody's Investors Service told investors it was lowering the city's credit outlook to "negative" from "stable" - meaning a credit downgrade is now more likely, though not certain.

A lower credit rating could force the city to pay much higher interest rates on its debt.

As the city considers privatizing some of its agencies, officials with the Los Angeles Convention Center asked Wednesday that they be allowed to continue managing the facility. Daily News.

Convention Center General Manager Pouria Abassi said the department has been running in the black for the past four years and would be generating revenue for the city if it did not have a $480 million debt to pay off related to construction and expansion of the center.

Overall crime in Los Angeles has fallen about 10 percent so far this year, but Police Chief Charlie Beck warned Wednesday that budget cuts threaten the steady improvement in public safety the city has enjoyed in recent years.Daily News.

While the LAPD has not had to lay off officers, it has had to eliminate most overtime pay - which could have the practical impact of losing 600 officers, Beck said.

"The reality is all the officers who work overtime are due compensatory time off," Beck told reporters. "That means every day we have 7 or 8 percent fewer officers available. Police work is not a 9-to-5 job, arrests don't happen at the beginning of a shift. Overtime is not something we have a lot of control over."

Jobs will continue to drain from Los Angeles County through year's end before the Great Recession finally begins to loosen its grip in 2011, according to an economic forecast released today.Gregory J. Wilcoxs in the Daily News.

The study by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. predicts that payrolls will grow 1 percent next year, adding 40,000 jobs in the county and 145,000 jobs statewide. Until then, however, 2010 will remain a tough time for many employers.

"A lot of gloom is in the air because economic activity is at such low levels," chief economist Jack Kyser wrote in the forecast.

In an effort to save jobs and soften the impact of budget cuts to classrooms, Los Angeles Unified officials Tuesday approved placing a new $100 per parcel tax on the June ballot. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

The limited parcel tax would generate $92.5 million per year for four years to help the district whittle down a deficit estimated of $640 million next year.

Taxpayer advocates blasted the idea of asking homeowners, already suffering during the financial downturn, to bail out the district. But school board members said it was a necessity.

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Tuesday that she will not run for California governor this year, removing any doubt that Attorney General Jerry Brown will be the party's nominee.SFGate

Feinstein, the 76-year-old former San Francisco mayor who is one of the state's most popular politicians, called Brown Tuesday morning to tell him she would not be running, her spokesman Gil Duran confirmed.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/16/MNQL1C2I5R.DTL#ixzz0fnitF7rq

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa took his budget-balancing campaign to a Silver Lake library on Tuesday, warning that the city is going to have to make cuts that will affect the quality of life for Angelenos.Daily News.

"I am duty-bound to tell the truth and the truth is we can no longer afford the level of services we have," Villaraigosa said at the Silver Lake Library, with about 50 people attending.

"I can't be one of those people who can be all things to all people. There is no situation that will not result in layoffs, that won't result in a reduction in service."

Andrew Westall, a Democratic candidate for the 43rd Assembly District, announced Tuesday he was dropping out of the race because of the death of Charmett Bonpua.
"This has been one of the hardest decisions I have ever made in my life, and I make it without reservation, regret or purpose of evasion," Westall wrote in a letter released Tuesday to supporters.
Bonpua, chief of staff to Councilman Herb Wesson, died on Sunday while in Las Vegas. She was 44.
Westall will continue his work as an adjunct professor at Pasadena City College and as a deputy to Wesson.

Los Angeles County Supervisors will mull the future of a $50 million "iconic park" in the heart of downtown today when they discuss whether to move forward with the massive Grand Avenue project. Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

Supervisors are scheduled to vote on an agreement to lease back public land to the developer of the $3 billion Grand Avenue project, which aims to become Los Angeles' true city center and draw locals and tourists with retail shops, housing units and green space.

Approving the lease-back agreement authorizes the development of a 16-acre park between City Hall and the Music Center - which will anchor the project and be the primary draw for the public.

Digital on-demand delivery of first-run movies has been predicted as the wave of the future for ... well, quite a few years. Bob Strauss in the Daily News.

The future is finally here, albeit on a limited scale.

You may not be watching the next "Iron Man," "Shrek" or even "Avatar" sequel on your TV set, computer or mobile phone the same day it opens in theaters. But more and more independent filmmakers are going with day-and-date theatrical/electronic release deals with each passing film festival.

After five years of getting nowhere with Los Angeles Unified officials, fed-up parents in Sunland-Tujunga are using a new state law to force change at a long-troubled middle school. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

Parents and community members say problems at Mount Gleason Middle School, which has been on a federal list of under-performing campuses for a dozen years, go beyond failing test scores.

"There is an unsafe atmosphere at this school that is spilling over into the community...," said Lydia Grant, a resident and parent of a former Mount Gleason student. "People are tired of it and we want to see change."

Los Angeles County may be drowning in red ink, but at least it won't be coming from $40 fountain pens anymore.Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

And county bureaucrats will no longer be able to sweep costly mistakes under $131 floor mats.

Shocked to learn public employees have been able to choose between fancy fountain pens and 24-cent ballpoints, county officials are eliminating thousands of high-ticket items from the official office supplies catalog.

Tipoffs: Council meets daily over budget...with few decisions.

Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris calmed many of his critics by apologizing last week to "anyone who felt excluded" when he spoke of trying to make the Antelope Valley city a "Christian community." Kevin Modesti in the Daily News.

But the dispute about Lancaster's unusual mix of politics and religion seems unlikely to cool down anytime soon.

The flap over Parris' comment in January has drawn attention to an April 13 ballot measure which asks Lancaster voters to affirm a long-standing policy of opening city government meetings with an invocation one that historically has been delivered by a Christian leader.

acing a massive budget deficit, the Los Angeles Unified School District board will decide Tuesday whether to ask voters in June for a $100 per-parcel tax increase for the next four years to help keep local schools afloat.Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

The limited parcel tax would generate about $92.5 million per year, according to a board report.

The money would go toward limiting class size increases, reducing teacher layoffs, and maintaining vocational and job training programs, according to the abbreviated text of the measure.

s the city's financial prospects grow dimmer by the day, a tough-talking Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told business leaders Thursday that 1,200 to 2,000 more layoffs might be needed next year unless there is major progress on privatization proposals and concessions from city unions.Daily News.

"I am not looking to pick a battle," Villaraigosa said at a town hall-style meeting at the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. "But I am prepared to fight and make the tough decisions that are necessary.

"And, let me be clear: There is no scenario, none, while I am mayor, that this city will ever declare bankruptcy. I can guarantee that."

Last fall, the 121-year-old Dallas Zoo embarked on a bold plan to run more efficiently and save the city money: It went private.Dana Bartholomew in the Daily News.

Since then, Texas' largest zoo has saved the city millions in operating costs while generating a windfall of hefty donations.

"We think it's working quite well," said Susan Eckert, spokeswoman for the city-owned facility now operated by the nonprofit Dallas Zoological Society. "It's been seamless.

hree San Fernando Valley schools are heading to the state finals of the Academic Decathlon after finishing among the top nine in Los Angeles Unified's contest, district officials announced Thursday night.Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

El Camino Real, Granada Hills Charter and Francis Polytechnic high schools were among the finalists out of 64 schools that competed in the two-day brain battle.

At a packed awards ceremony at Hollywood High School Thursday night, hundreds of students from all of the district's competing schools got a chance to celebrate their team scores as well as honors given to individual students.

Andre Birotte, the inspector general of the Los Angeles Police Department, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate today as U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California.
He is the first Africna-American U.S. Attonrey for the district, which includes Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San mBernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties.
Birotte was nominated by Sen. Dianne Feinstein to the president after being selected by a bipartisan advisory committee.

Francis Polytechnic High School sophomore Cathy Capalla has been having nightmares over the past four nights - and that's when she's been able to sleep. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

"Oh my God ... I've been uneasy ... anxious ... sometimes I think I'm going to hyperventilate," said Capalla, 16.

The teen and her classmates at the Sun Valley campus were among hundreds of kids who duked it out last week during the final leg of Los Angeles Unified's 29th annual Academic Decathlon. Tonight at a Hollywood High ceremony, she'll be among hundreds of local students, parents and coaches who will learn whether months of late-night cram sessions paid off.

Undeterred by his failure to authorize an audit of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's legal costs, county Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said Wednesday he plans to ask the agency's own board to investigate the issue.Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

Ridley-Thomas had authored a motion Tuesday for the Board of Supervisors to approve an audit of Metro's legal costs, which include $30 million spent on a Red Line contractor lawsuit. His proposal died, however, when none of the other supervisors would second his motion so it could be brought to a vote.

Several supervisors said they believe the county will eventually win the Red Line case, even though an earlier judgment in favor of Metro was overturned on appeal. All five supervisors are Metro board members.

With Los Angeles fighting a massive budget deficit, City Controller Wendy Greuel called on City Council members Wednesday to give up $25million in special funds used for pet projects in their districts. Daily News.

The money has accumulated over the past 12 years from the sale of city property and oil pipeline franchise revenue, and council members can spend it on various public works, community buildings and o projects.

Greuel urged the council to transfer the funds to the city's struggling general fund now and in the future. She was unsuccessful in pushing for a similar change when she served on the City Council.

The rich got richer over the past 10 years, but the Great Recession has pounded Los Angeles County's middle class and pushed the poor into even deeper despair, according to a United Way study released Tuesday. Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

The study comparing the county's social and economic conditions in 1999 and 2009 found the middle class has dwindled, many jobs that could have helped lift the poor into the middle class have gone, and the gap between the rich and poor has gotten wider.

"What was disturbing in the report is that wages have been pretty stagnant across the income spectrum," said Elise Buik, president/CEO of the United Way of Greater Los Angeles.

Despite years of complaints about low-performing schools in Los Angeles Unified School District, parents, teachers and community members apparently gave the district a vote of confidence in balloting designed to help choose operators for 36 schools under a new reform program, according to results released Tuesday.Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

In every school, voters chose LAUSD as the preferred operator under the School Choice plan, which forces the district to compete with outside groups to run new and underperforming campuses.

The vote, however, was advisory only, and some critics have questioned a system which allowed people to vote more than once under different categories.

Stressing the dire state of the city's financial problems, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa made a personal appeal urging the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday to slash the budget by eliminating departments, selling off city assets and making other cuts.Daily News.

"Time is not our friend," Villaraigosa said in a unprecedented appearance before the City Council that included a two-hour question-and-answer session.

"I come today understanding just how difficult the decisions (are that) we are asking you to make. We can't continue to say no to everything. We can't say no to layoffs, no to furloughs, no to department elimination, no to parking meters, no to parking structures, no to the zoo, no to the Convention Center.

A City Council member on Tuesday proposed the creation of special teams to determine how the federal stimulus money is being used to create jobs in Los Angeles. Daily News.

"We need to home in on a figure ... and I think we can get to 1,000 jobs before we are done," Councilman Richard Alarcon said during a meeting of the council's Jobs and Business Development Committee.

Alarcon has been collecting information from each city department on the amount of federal money received and the number of jobs created or preserved.

he Los Angeles City Council is expected today to enter the next phase of reorganizing how city government works as it copes with a more than $200 million shortfall over the next four months and deal with a $400 million deficit next year. Daiily News.

A 41-point program proposed by City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana that deals with everything from eliminating some politically popular programs to shedding the city of managing some of its assets over the next three years will receive its first hearing before the council.

"This is the start of a conversation," Santana said. "We haven't thought of every issue. Our goal is to put it out there and get direction from the council in areas they want to explore for the future.

With the Los Angeles City Council set to deliberate on a three-year budget plan on Tujesday, Ci Administrative Officer Miguel Ssantana is advising of concerns by one rating agency over the city's plans.
Santana, in a memo to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, said the Fitch Ratings service is concerned over the city's deteriorating financial situation and the lack of any resolve by the council the take action.
"Fitch is concerned that we have no political consensus between the mayor and the City
Council," Santana wrote."They are also concerned about the vulnerability of the three year plan given (the council's) response to the CAO's financial status report."
Santana said the conversation ended with Fitch advisors saying the situation "presented a tremendous opportunity" for elected officials to step up to the plate.

Officials are scrambling to avoid a repeat of the weekend's hillside mudslides that damaged 43 homes in La Cañada Flintridge and La Crescenta and left many scratching their heads over the apparent lack of emergency preparations.Tony Castro in the Daily News.

Workers hurried Sunday to empty debris basins once filled with mud in anticipation of mid-week rains feared to further endanger homes on hillsides denuded by last summer's wildfires.

Although today's forecast predicted mostly sunny skies and a high near 60 degrees, a 20 percent chance of rain was expected to increase to a 40 percent chance of rain by Tuesday night and a 30 percent chance of rain Wednesday morning.

More than any disaster the city has faced, the financial meltdown of the past year is serving to force Los Angeles to redefine itself and the services it provides. Daily News.

"I keep telling my friends that this year is awful and that next year and the next few years will be difficult," Councilman Greig Smith said. "And, I predict in five years people will not recognize the city of Los Angeles."

Faced with a $212 million - and growing - shortfall for the final four months of this fiscal year and another $400 million next year, the city has been reeling from one crisis to the next trying to find ways to balance its budget

Tipoffs: Los Angeles City Council decides to "temporarily": abandon monthly meetings in Van Nuys.

Saying the city was headed in the wrong direction, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa took a series of unprecedented financial steps Thursday, including ordering 1,000 layoffs and pushing to reopen salary talks with city unions.Daily News.

The mayor's orders came a day after the City Council spent more than eight hours debating ways to close the city's budget gap of $212 million this fiscal year and more than $400 million next year, but ultimately postponed action for at least 30 days.

"Instead of making progress, we are headed in the wrong direction," Villaraigosa said in a late afternoon City Hall news conference. "That ends today. I am taking action to balance this fiscal year's budget and restoring the city's credit rating and restoring the long term health of the ci

Charter schools nationwide could be violating the civil rights of students because they are increasingly separating them by race, class and language, according to a report released Thursday by the Civil Rights project at UCLA. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

The study finds that black and Latino students enrolled at charters - schools that are publicly funded but independently run - are more likely to be isolated with classmates of their same race.

"We are seeing a lot of charters as segregated as schools in the old South that were the target of the civil-rights movement," said Gary Orfield, co-founder of the Civil Rights project.

A federal transportation officials opened an investigation into brake problems in the 2010 Prius and Toyota ordered a recall of the hybrid model, Los Angeles County officials moved Thursday to determine if any of the vehicles are in the county's fleet. Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

In recent years, the county has purchased about 300 Priuses as part of a larger effort to make the 12,000-vehicle county fleet more fuel efficient and to combat climate change, Sandoval said. The county has about 400 hybrid vehicles currently.

"We were scrambling to identify what we had," said Joe Sandoval, general manager of purchasing and services for the county's Internal Services Department. "We wanted to get them switched out. We have one 2010 Prius in inventory and it belongs to one of the supervisors' board deputies. So what we did was swap it out with a motor pool vehicle."

As the City Council delayed a decision on making layoffs and eliminating city departments to balance the deficit, some council members began talking Wednesday about proposing new taxes to help ease the city's budget woes. Daily News.

Councilman Bill Rosendahl suggested placing a parcel tax for an undetermined amount on the November ballot to generate more revenue, in part to help pay for the city's ballooning pension costs. Councilwoman Janice Hahn said she wanted to consider submitting a variety of potential tax increases to voters.

"We need two or three proposals, relating to the pension and new revenue, and need to have a conversation with voters," Rosendahl said. "We need to let the people weigh in and see if they want us to continue bailing out the pension system at the expense of services."

Throwing its support behind a decades-long effort to phase out the noisiest models of corporate jets at Van Nuys Airport, a city panel recommended adopting a law to ban Stage 2 aircraft. Daily News.

The City Council's Trade, Commerce and Tourism Committee recommended the city phase out the noisier planes over the next six years.

"This is something that should have been done 10 years ago," said Gerald Silver of Homeowners of Encino, who has made the noise issue one of his top priorities. "This is a step in the right direction and will have minimal economic impact on the airport."

In a voting process that appeared riddled with flaws, parents, teachers and community members cast ballots Tuesday to help Los Angeles Unified School District pick operators for 36 schools under a new reform program. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

But the district's guidelines for voting were so loose that it appeared many voters, especially teachers, were allowed to cast more than one ballot. And at San Fernando Middle School, even the local mailman was drafted by some teachers into voting when he showed up to deliver the school's letters.

The vote was advisory only, meant to help LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines and the school board understand public opinion as they choose bidders to run 36 new and underperforming schools under the School Choice reform plan. Results were not released Tuesday, as more voting is scheduled for Saturday.

The number of Los Angeles County residents seeking help from food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters skyrocketed 46 percent in the last four years as the country plunged into recession, according to a report issued Tuesday. Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

The Los Angeles Regional Foodbank report found that the number of residents seeking food assistance grew from 674,100 in 2005 to a record 983,400 last year. The number of children receiving food assistance more than doubled from 185,000 to 393,000 in that time.

"This means one in 10 people in Los Angeles County are seeking food assistance," Foodbank President Michael Flood said. "The number of children has increased markedly, which is very concerning to us."

Flabbergasted by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's soaring litigation costs, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas on Tuesday called for an audit to determine the extent of the agency's legal expenses. Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

Ridley-Thomas said Metro has spent more than $30 million in legal fees fighting a lawsuit filed by the Tutor-Saliba Corp. in 1995 regarding the Red Line subway that runs from Union Station to North Hollywood.

Ridley-Thomas is also concerned about another $10 million in legal fees spent on another construction-related lawsuit "which may have been spent without approval of the MTA Board of Directors."

Municipal workers who could lose their jobs under a new layoff plan confronted City Council members Tuesday, begging them to find other ways to cover a $200 million shortfall in Los Angeles' budget. Daily News.

The council is scheduled today to consider a plan to lay off up to 1,500 employees and eliminate some agencies to close the growing city deficit.

"I am not here to make you feel bad," said Erica Nicholson, a 23-year employee of the General Services Department. "But my heart is hurting. I'm proud of what we do ... and I ask you, please, please please, no layoffs."

Councilman Paul Krekorian announced Tuesday he is supporting Glendale School Board Member Nayiri Nahabedian for election to the Assembly seat he gave up.
Krekorian said he believed Nahabedian had the experience needed to replace him in the 43rd Assembly District.
"Under very difficult economic circumstances, Nayiri has worked hard to ensure that Glendale schools remain fiscally solvent and that their students are prepared to meet the challenges of tomorrow," Krekorian said.
"Nayiri is the only candidate in this race with the experience to confront the problems facing California, and the independence to make the hard decisions that will be required. In these extraordinarily challenging times, she is exactly the kind of leader we need to send to Sacramento to fight for us."

Citing lax oversight, California Controller John Chiang said Monday the state paid $11 million to in-home caretakers to assist people who were dead. Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

The overpayments included $4.3 million to in-home providers in Los Angeles County.

"What the controller is doing is pointing out that there needs to be more state and county oversight of In-Home Supportive Services payments," said Garin Casaleggio, a spokesman for the State Controller's Office

Despite a chorus of complaints from community activists, a City Council committee advanced a plan Monday to lay off up to 1,500 workers and slash spending across the board - including the previously untouched Los Angeles fire and police departments. Daily News.

The aim of the plan is to make $400 million in cuts to help close a massive budget deficit. While Los Angeles officials say some layoffs can be averted if unions agree to concessions, they say they must plan for the worst.

Attorney General Jerry Brown filed campaign finance reports today for the second half of 2009 that showed he has raised $4.9 million since July 1 and a total of $8.3 million for the year, leaving him with $12.1 millio nin cash on hand.
The Brown for Governor 2010 Exploratory Committee, which began raising funds in early October, took in $4.4 million in the final three months of 2009.
"Jerry Brown has a broad network of supporters all across the state of California," said Brown Campaign Manager Steve Glazer. "We expect to have the resources to mount an aggressive campaign in 2010."
Brown will not need to spend much in the June primary, but has to look to November when he is expected to face huge spending operations from either of the two leading Republican candidates, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner or former ebay president Meg Whitman.

Los Angeles Unified parents, teachers and community members will get to vote on their favorite school proposals this week as the district inches closer to launching a landmark reform plan handing over control of some schools to the best bidders.Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

But what was supposed to be a healthy competition has turned into a heated battle between district employee unions, charter school operators and other nonprofits that are vying for control of 36 district schools.

Applicants accuse each other of foul play and the only thing all can agree on is that the voting process leaves too much room for voter violations.

A major restructuring of services and how Los Angeles provides for them will be proposed in a far reaching document presented today to a City Council panel. Daily News.

City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana is calling for officials to develop a three-year plan to deal with its budget problems caused by the recession that has revealed weaknesses, duplication and costly ways of doing business.

If changes are not made, Santana estimated the city will have a budget shortfall of $952 million by the year 2014.

Tipoffs: Lobbyiing for federal funds; looking for train manufacturer.